RPI Receives $900,000 for Fuel Cell Research Project

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, Troy, NY), the nation's oldest technological university, announced that it has received a $900,000 grant from the US Department of Energy to start a research project on polymer membranes, a key component to a fuel cell system. Researchers are testing a new type of polymer membrane developed by RPI for potential use in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell and hydrogen applications. The grant is part of the federal Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which includes a commitment of more than $64 million in research and development projects.

"Fuel cells have great potential to contribute to energy solutions, but basic research is needed to better understand how parts of the system can be optimized so that fuel cells can be further developed into applied technologies," said Brian Benicewicz, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at RPI and director of the New York State Center for Polymer Synthesis at RPI.